1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to an information handling system that provides image information to a display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements can vary between different applications, information handling systems can also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information can be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems can include a variety of hardware and software components that can be configured to process, store, and communicate information and can include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Various standards developed with respect to performing certain operations associated with an information handling system change as they become outdated or otherwise replaced with other standards as technology advances or specific operational requirements change. In addition, competing standards can exist. For example, various standards exist that describe physical, operational, and electrical requirements needed to interface a video/graphics port at an information handling system that provides video/graphics information for display to a video/graphics display unit of the information handling system. These differences in standards can render a specific video/graphics display unit inoperable with a specific video/graphics port.
For example, DisplayPort is a video/graphics interface standard put forth by The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), while Single-Link Digital Video Interface (DVI) and Dual-Link DVI are video interface standards put forth by an industry consortium, the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). Video/graphics display units that support one of these standards do not necessarily support the other. In order to support a wide variety of video/graphics interface standards implemented by different display devices, multiple video/graphics ports have been included at video/graphics interface modules of information handling systems. Adaptor plugs, also referred to as cable adapters, have also been developed that can act as a bridge device that provides an appropriate physical, operational, and electrical interface between two different video/graphics interface standards.
For example, VESA has put forth a guideline, referred to herein as the VESA Interoperability Guideline, that describes a video/graphics port that by default is a DisplayPort video/graphics port, but that supports a dual mode of operation, whereby the video/graphics port can detect the presence of a cable adapter at a DisplayPort receptacle connector and configure its operation to receive and provide signals at the DisplayPort receptacle connector in a manner that is operationally consistent with the DVI standard to implement a Single-Link DVI video/graphics port. The guideline also describes an active cable adapter that receives pseudo TMDS/DVI compliant information from a DisplayPort receptacle connector that can also provide DisplayPort information, and buffers and conditions signals to meet the TMDS/DVI standard to generate signals compliant with the Dual-Link DVI standard. However, a cable adapter capable for supporting data flow from a DisplayPort receptacle connector to a Dual-Link DVI receptacle connector can be expensive in terms of silicon, cost and power consumption. A method and information handling system capable of performing this conversion in a expensive costly manner would be useful.